1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mower which is to be coupled to a motor vehicle. The mower comprising a frame and at least one mowing group connected to the frame by a joint.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related mower is described in FR-A-2 635 433. The mower comprises a frame by which it can be connected to a tractor, and a mowing group which is connected to the frame by a joint of the pivot type with geometric axis directed at least approximately in the direction of advance at work. The mower further comprises a maneuvering cylinder extending between the frame and the mowing group to move the mowing group from a work position where the mowing group extends laterally beside the path of the tractor and crosswise to the direction of advance at work, into a transport position where the mowing group extends upward, by pivoting around the joint.
The frame is equipped with a coupling element intended to be connected to the coupling device of the tractor. It further comprises a support beam connected to the coupling element by two connecting elements each of which is connected respectively to the coupling element by a first joint and to the support beam by a second joint.
The mowing group is connected at the outside end of the support beam by the joint with geometric axis directed in the direction of advance at work. One of the connecting elements, which has been made in the form of a support element by which the coupling element supports the support beam and the mowing group, is arranged at the other end of the support beam. The other connecting element extends into a zone located between the mowing group and the support element and is made in the form of a safety tie rod.
The coupling element, the support beam and the two connecting elements form a deformable structure crosswise to the direction of advance at work, so that for transport, the mowing group can be brought close to the median axis of the tractor. Because of this arrangement, the overall width of the tractor/mower unit is smaller. Further, the center of gravity of the mower extends closer to the median axis of the tractor, which stresses less the frame of the mower and the coupling device of the tractor and lightens less the wheels of the tractor extending from the side opposite to that where the mowing group extends.
In the known mower, the movement of the mowing group toward the median axis of the tractor is performed simultaneously to the pivoting of the mowing group from the work position into the transport position. For this purpose, a control bar connected, on the one hand, to the coupling element or to the connecting element constituting the support element by a first spherical joint and, on the other hand, to the mowing group by a second spherical joint, is provided. By thus pivoting the mowing group upward by the maneuvering cylinder, the mowing group exerts an action on the control bar which causes the deformation of the deformable structure toward the median axis of the tractor.
In the known mower, it is also provided, finally, that the connecting element located closest to the mowing group has a greater length than the other connecting element and is, in work position, greatly inclined toward the mowing group. This characteristic is particularly advantageous when the mowing group is provided with a guard. Such a guard is actually necessary when the mowing group runs the risk of throwing back stones, for example. Now, this guard, to meet the current standards, in general has relatively large dimensions, so that during the process of pulling the mowing group into transport position, problems of interference with the wheels of the tractor can appear. But these problems are eliminated with the above characteristic since during the movement of the mowing group in the direction of the median axis of the tractor, the mowing group also moves away enough from the tractor so that the guard can at least partially extend in the track of the wheel of the tractor extending in the vicinity of the mowing group.
Although the known mower is equipped with the above-mentioned characteristics, the known mower presented many drawbacks.